


you don't think you like people like me

by softhance



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk (Voltron) is a Good Friend, M/M, Shiro and Matt getting hitched, broganes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2018-12-25 04:11:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12027849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softhance/pseuds/softhance
Summary: Keith feels a twinge of annoyance. “How do you know I don't have a plus one?”“Keith, you've never even been in a relationship. You're twenty. You tell me most things. I think I'd know if you got your first boyfriend.”“Maybe I just… didn't want to tell you this thing.”“Right. And Matt doesn't snore.”“I resent that,” he hears Matt yell faintly over the line.Keith huffs. “I could get a date if I wanted to.”or, another klance fake dating au bc you can never have too many of those





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ashmes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashmes/gifts).



> THIS IS MY FIRST FIC PLS GO EASY ON ME

“Hunk, please, you've gotta help me.”

Keith sits at the table with enough force to hopefully convey how dire the situation at hand really is. Hunk, bless his soul, immediately looks up from his work (engineering?) and shoots Keith a confused, albeit warm, smile. 

“What's up? Your air conditioner burn out again?”

“Uh. Yeah. But that's not why I'm here.”

He's actually at the library for work. As in, he's supposed to be shelving books right now, but his need for a date to the wedding far exceeds his need to not piss off his supervisor. Honestly, he wouldn't even be in the library, if not for his modestly-paying part-time job. Keith has never been too big on libraries. Why study in the presence of twenty other people, many of whom talk and distract, when one could be working in the blissful silence of one’s own home?

Hunk shifts a nervous glance over at the librarian sitting at the reference desk, a mere twenty feet away. 

“Are you on the clock?”

“Have you ever known me to set foot in this building when I'm not on the clock?”

“Right. What do you need help with, then?”

Keith takes a deep breath.

“Pleasebemyfakedatetomybrother’sweddingnextmonth.”

Hunk blinks. 

“What.”

“Shiro’s marrying Matt. You know that, probably, you're around Pidge all the time. But, uh, funny story, I kind of told my brother I’d be bringing an awesome guy as my plus one, and now I have to follow through or risk this becoming something that I never live down. He’ll reference it at every optimal moment if I screw this up, I know it.”

“You think I’m awesome?”

Hunk looks so immensely touched that Keith can't help but stare. 

“That's what you got from all that?”

“Sorry. But really, why me?”

“You’re awesome,” Keith says as earnestly as he can manage. Because, really, Hunk is a great friend. “And, well, Shiro was right, I only know 6 guys, and you're the only one I’m actually on friendly terms with that isn't related to me.”

“I… what?”

“Don't worry about it. Just, please. Please be my plus one.”

“I wish I could help you with your problem, dude. I really do. But I'm already going to your brother’s wedding.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I mean, they didn't directly invite me to the wedding. Allura said they wanted it small, and, well, I…” Hunk’s cheeks turn positively red. 

“What?”

“I’m going as Allura’s date.”

“Oh?” 

Hunk slowly slouches in his chair, face growing hotter by the second. He seems to be making a fair attempt at melting into the floor. 

“Oh!” 

Keith breaks into a massive grin.

“That's awesome, buddy! I was wondering when you two would finally get your heads out of your asses.”

Hunk squeaks. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Hunk eyes Keith suspiciously. 

“You two have been totally subtle.”

Keith grins until Hunk seems to shrug it off. “I'll figure something out.”

“Pidge is already going, obviously. What about her?”

“She's, like, twelve. And a lesbian.”

“Sixteen, and it can be a friend date! How cute would that be, the maid of honor and best man going to the wedding together?”

Keith rolls his eyes. “I am also gay.”

“Fine. Not Pidge.”

“Nope.”

“I have a friend, Shay? She has a girlfriend, but she'd be happy to help out, I’m sure.”

“Have I mentioned that I'm  _ super _ gay?”

“Okay, got it. What about your friend? The sketchy one.”

“Who?”

“The one who's not to be trusted.”

“Oh, Rolo? You just don't like him because he beat you at bowling.”

Hunk huffs. “No one is just  _ that good _ at bowling, Keith. No one!”

Keith lets out a long-suffering sigh, one that would make Shiro proud. “Hunk, can we focus? I have a brother to best.”

“Okay…” Hunk bites his lip, and Keith gets the feeling that he's about to drop a bombshell. “Don't get annoyed, but maybe you should just… ask Lance?”

Bingo. 

“Absolutely not.”

“Why not? You two get along fine, when you aren't at each other’s throats.”

“I have no problem with Lance! He’s the one who seems to have a problem with me!”

“He's just… competitive."

“Just hearing my name sets him off!”

“He’s… very competitive?”

“There's no way we could convince anyone we're dating, with how ‘competitive’ he is. Shiro knows me. He'd never buy it.”

“I don't know, dude. You know what they say -- opposites attract, right?”

“No. We're too opposite. We'd make a terrible couple!”

“Well, then, it's a good thing you wouldn't be a real couple. It's just for a few days, right? You don't think you can play nice for that long?”

“ _ I am perfectly nice when it comes to Lance! He’s the one with the problem!” _

The librarian directs a sharp look in their direction. Keith ducks his head apologetically, but what really pardons them is Hunk’s sweet smile and a soft, “Sorry, ma’am.”

“Do you have any better candidates in mind?” The sweet facade is gone, replaced by a look that suggests Hunk knows he's bested Keith. Never mind. Hunk is the opposite of sweet. Hunk is terrible.

He pouts. Hunk gives him a triumphant smile and a cuff to the head that leaves him reeling. Damn, he's strong. 

“Are you sure you and Allura aren't looking for a third date,” Keith says weakly. 

“Ask. Lance.”

“Fine.”

Keith pushes out from the table, stomping back over to cart he'd been shelving. He shoves the books in as angrily as he can manage. It doesn't appear very angry at all -- such is the plight of being a library page, with paper books and wooden shelves. Not really conducive to loud, angry bangs. It's more like muffled, even-tempered thumps. Hunk gets the message, though, judging by his sympathetic gaze.

 

In retrospect, this entire situation is his own fault, as is the case with most unsavory situations he finds himself in. It happens more often than he'd like to admit (curse his poor impulse control). In this particular case, all it had taken were some careful jabs from his brother, and his fate was sealed with a few snappy words.

“Y’know, just because you're my best man doesn't mean you don't have to RSVP to my wedding.” Keith can't see Shiro’s face over the phone, but he's sure his brother is making the same, long-suffering expression he reserves especially for his favorite pain-in-the-ass. 

“Why, though? You know I'll be there. Consider this my RSVP. I'll be there. Obviously.”

“Dude, just fill out the little card we sent. It's not that hard, we even provided the return address and the stamp.” Keith is certain that Shiro’s just giving him a hard time for no other reason than he is his brother. Then again, what else is new?

“I would, but…”  Keith glances around the disaster that is his current room. Perhaps if the invitation had come around at the beginning of spring, when he'd moved into his modest apartment, he might've had a chance at not losing it under the sea of dirty clothes, mediocre papers, and unidentified food wrappers. Scratch that. He remembers opening the invite months ago. It was just another casualty in the roompocalypse. No stray paper ever stood a chance. “I have no idea where it is. So, here's my RSVP: I'm coming. Signed, Keith.”

“Of course you lost it.”

“Yeah, not sure why you expected anything different, after living with me for most of my life.”

“Forgive me for hoping that college may have had a positive influence on your cleanliness.”

“I'm not in school anymore. And if anything, college made it worse. Has it really been that long since you graduated, old man? Forgotten already what it's like to be a young bachelor?”

“I’m 27, not 87, Keith.”

“Okay, Grandpa.”

“Fuck off.”

Keith sniggers. Shiro lets out a long sigh, tinged with a touch of amusement. It's how most of their conversations go, really.

“Listen, I'll just send you another invitation. I need the physical copy. Makes it easier to count the guests,” Shiro says.

“Why didn't you just send e-vites or something? Then this wouldn't be a problem.”

“Just shut up and wait for the invite to come.”

“Fine.”

“Seriously. I need to count the guests. I'd say it's because I need to know if you have a plus one, but we both know that would never happen.”

Keith feels a twinge of annoyance. “How do you know I don't have a plus one?”

“Keith, you've never even been in a relationship. You're twenty. You tell me most things. I think I'd know if you got your first boyfriend.”

“Maybe I just… didn't want to tell you this thing.”

“Right. And Matt doesn't snore.”

_ “I resent that,” _ he hears Matt yell faintly over the line. 

Keith huffs. “I could get a date if I wanted to.”

“I don't think the girl who asked for your number once at the bookstore counts if you're gay, dude,” Shiro laughs.

“I could get a date with a boy! I’ve been asked the same by boys.” Once. It was one boy. And he'd never called. 

“Right. How many boys do you know, again? A grand total of… 5? And that's being generous. I'm counting myself and Matt, here.”

“Shut up! You don't know everyone I know. For your information, there is someone I can bring to your wedding.”

“Really,” Shiro says, in impeccable deadpan. 

“Yes. He's funny and attractive and very into me.”

“What's his name.”

“I… will disclose that information at a later date.”

“Mhm. He sounds great.”

“Just mail me the stupid invitation. Bye.”

“Love you, too.”

Keith hangs up first. 

  
  
  
  


He gets the invite three days later. The plus one box is already checked, namespace already occupied by Shiro’s neat lettering. 

_ Keith’s imaginary date.  _

Keith sees red. 

  
  
  


“You want me to  _ what _ ?”

The proposal (poor word choice but he’s rolling with it) goes just as terribly as Keith had expected it would. 

Lance is staring at him with the most affronted expression imaginable. It makes his insides squirm. 

“Don't look at me like that! It was Hunk’s idea.”

Lance whirls around to glare at said friend. Hunk, who’s been quietly watching the train wreck unfold, lets out a groan at Keith’s betrayal. 

“Really, dude?”

“Yes, Hunk. Really,” Keith says. Lance just eyes him up and down.

“Really, Hunk? This guy?” 

Keith tries to think happy thoughts. Ramen. Thunderstorms. Puppies. It doesn’t work.

“Yes, Lance. Really.”

“Why didn’t you ask Hunk?”

“I did! He can’t, he’s already going with Allura.”

Lance freezes, mouth half-open and ready to respond to Keith. He seems to take a moment to absorb the information, charge up, and release a slew of shouts on his best friend, who’s been bracing himself since Lance first paused.

“ALLURA? BUDDY! AWESOME! FINALLY! But also you’ve lost your position as best friend for not telling me immediately and you’re dead to me now.”

The onslaught of praise, directly followed by the peeved comments, catches Hunk off guard. He reacts somewhere in the middle, displaying an absurd smile-grimace that fits the situation perfectly, oddly enough. Keith can relate to that look. The entire situation makes his insides feel like that expression.

“Thanks, dude. And sorry. I was going to tell you soon, I promise, it happened really late last night.”

“Awesome. Took you long enough.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?”

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway, Keith, you really want me to help you out when I wasn’t even your first choice?”

Keith blinks. This conversation is far too scattered for his brain to follow. “You were mad at me for asking you at all… and now you’re mad at me for not asking you first? What’s your problem?”

“Hmph. Of course you don’t get it.”

“I really don’t.”

“Whatever. What’ll you give me if I say yes?”

“Give you?”

“Yeah. Are you willing to pay me or something? There’s a new gaming console I’ve had my eye on for a while.”

“I’m not paying you, Lance. If you don’t want to, forget it. I’m not going to force it,” Keith says, cheeks burning with embarrassment. “It has to be convincing, anyway. This was a stupid idea, no one would ever believe we’re into each other.”

Lance is quiet as Keith turns away from the table. It’s not until he’s taken a good three steps away that the sound of his voice makes him stop. “Tutor me.”

“Tutor you?” Keith asks. “That seems a little backwards. You’re going to ask the college dropout to tutor you? In what? I wasn’t even a STEM major.”

It’s strange -- Lance looks down to the floor, almost  _ bashfully _ , which makes absolutely no sense in this context. “Well, yeah, I know that. But you were English, right? I’m taking a mandatory writing class for my major, and I’ve been having a lot of trouble with it.”

Keith stares at Lance for a moment, enough time for the other boy to get antsy, squirming in his seat while he waits for an answer. He can’t figure out a rational reason why Lance would ever remember what he’d majored in before he’d dropped out of school last year. Hunk must have mentioned it in passing. 

“I’m not going to write your papers for you, Lance,” Keith warns.

Lance splutters. “I know that! I’m not looking to break the academic code of honor or whatever it is they make you sign at the beginning of the year! I just need some help editing and proofreading my stuff. Just tutor me weekly or something. Then we’ll be even.”

Keith thinks for a moment. Tutoring wouldn’t normally be something he’d consider, but desperate times… 

“Fine.”

“And get me library books if I need any. Hunk told me about the whole no late fees thing for employees.”

Keith grits his teeth. “ _ Fine _ . Anything else, your highness?”

“Nah. That’ll do. Ready to do some acting, babe?”

Keith gives Lance a swift chop to the head, firmly enough that the boy lets out a squawk in protest. 

 

The two weeks leading up to the wedding are uneventful, to say the least. Shiro is too caught up in taste tests and tux fittings to really antagonize Keith about his mythical boyfriend. This only leaves Keith to his own thoughts, shelving books at the library daily with his mind on autopilot, imagining just how easily he could thoroughly embarrass himself at the oncoming event.

He and Lance haven’t spoken since the initial plan, and Keith is almost too scared to ask him if he still wants to go through with it all. Almost. The desire to best Shiro only slightly overpowers his reluctance to pull off this stunt with Lance.

As it turns out, though, he has nothing to worry about, because two days before the rehearsal dinner, he’s working the tail end of a five-hour shift at the library when Lance strolls through the doors to the Adult Department and walks right over to where he’s finishing up organizing the magazines.

“You almost done?”   
  
Keith lets out a nervous laugh. “Uh… give me fifteen minutes?”

“Sure, sure,” Lance says. He offers no explanation as to why he’s just arrived at the library unannounced at the end of his shift like a stalker, simply pulling out his phone and plopping down into the nearest leather chair. Keith tries to turn his attention back to the magazine rack, but he can feel Lance’s eyes on him as he makes his best effort to appear busy. The next fifteen minutes that pass are the slowest that he’s ever experienced.

Finally, 1 pm comes, and he graciously rushes to the back office to grab his keys. Lance has migrated from his previous spot, perching on the edge of a nearby table. Keith eyes him up and down.

“I, uh, just have to go punch out downstairs,” he says, and Lance nods. “I’ll meet you outside, I guess?”   
  
Lance nods, whistling as he turns to leave. Keith takes his time making his way downstairs to the timeclock, still not able to come up with a proper reason for Lance to be here in the first place, acting so mysterious and mellow.

He’s leaning against a lamppost when Keith emerges from the library, fifteen minutes later. It’s not until Keith stops in front of him, expectantly, that Lance looks up from his phone and brightens. Keith feels his heart stutter. From nerves.

“All right! Ready to go on a date?”   
  
Keith chokes. “A what?”   


“Seriously, dude, for someone who wants to pull this stunt off smoothly, you really aren’t thinking ahead at all,” Lance says, rolling his eyes, as though this turn of events is perfectly logical. “I’m not about to pretend to date you in front of a bunch of your close family and friends without doing a practice run first. Fake dating kind of requires at least one fake date, don’t you think?”

As much as he hates to admit it, it does seem like a decent idea. Better figure out all the backstory and interactions now, attempt to minimize the fallout that will doubtlessly happen this weekend.

“I guess that makes sense. Sure, fine. What do you have in mind?”

Lance grins.

They arrive at the apparent final destination safely, though not without incident. Lance has them board the wrong train, and it takes him four stops to realize they’re heading in the exact opposite direction from where they’re supposed to be. Keith makes sure to give him an appropriate amount of grief for that screw up.

He has to hand it to Lance, he hadn’t expected to find himself standing in front of a museum of natural history. He can’t keep down the smile that creeps up when he realizes the plan for the evening.

“I haven’t been here in years.”

When he looks to the side, Lance is looking back at him, satisfaction and something else in his expression. 

“Yeah? You like it here? I don’t know, you seem like someone who might like all that history stuff, so I figured..,” he trails off, glancing away. The idea that Lance actually put thought into this date, fake though it may be, makes Keith’s smile only grow.

“I used to come here all the time with Shiro. Yeah, I like it here.”

Lance lets out a little puff of relief. “Cool. Good. All right, let’s go.”

At the ticket booth, Keith goes to pull out his wallet, only to be stopped by a hand at his wrist.

“I got it, dude.”

“No, it’s fine--”

“I got free passes from the library. They do that, y’know? If you reserve them ahead of time,” Lance says quickly, looking anywhere but at Keith. “Thought you’d know that, what with you working there and all.”

Keith opens his mouth. And closes it. He stews over this as Lance lets out a nervous laugh and leads them into the museum, through the doors and into the first exhibit. Ahead of time. How long had Lance planned this? Perhaps he's overthinking it, and Lance had simply decided this was the easiest, cheapest fake date option.

“What's your favorite?”

He is pulled out of his thoughts by the very person he's thinking about.

“Hm?”

“Exhibit. What kind is your favorite?”

“Oh. I’ve always like the prehistoric mammals. Y'know, wolves and mammoths and sabertooth tigers. They reminded me of the fantasy books I'd read, but they were actually real once. It blew my mind as a kid.”

Lance nods. “That's fair. I always preferred dinosaurs, but I can respect that.”

Keith stares.

“What?”

“You just… skipped an opportunity to argue with me.”

“Well, don’t look so shocked. I did say this was a practice round, right?” Lance shrugs. “We can’t be bickering the entire night of the wedding, can we?”

Keith follows Lance over to a map of the museum, still trying to wrap his head around everything that’s happening.

“I guess not…”

“So then, what’s the problem?”

“No problem, it’s just… kind of nice,” Keith says. He immediately regrets it. Luckily, Lance seems not to hear, despite the red tips of his ears.

“Hey, prehistoric mammals are on the third floor. Let’s go!”

He follows in a bit of a daze.  _ It’s a fake date. He’s just doing you a favor. _ Keith has to repeat that several times as he stands beside Lance in the elevator. When the little ‘ding’ lets them know they’ve reached their floor, Lance grabs his hand, and suddenly Keith’s hard work is undone as his heart flatlines and his mind goes completely blank. On instinct, he intertwines their fingers, and he can feel Lance stiffen slightly.

“Uh. Sorry,” Keith says. He tries to wiggle his hand out of Lance’s, but the boy makes a quick recovery. He relaxes his shoulders and tightens his grip on Keith’s hand.

“Sorry for what? I’m the one who grabbed your hand in the first place,” Lance sputters. “I just figure, we have to get used to it, right? I can’t stiffen up every time we hold hands, just like you can’t gape every time I’m nice to you.”

Keith frowns. “I don’t gape.”

“Says the guy who’s been imitating a fish since we left the library.”

“Fuck off,” Keith says, mirth impossible to keep out of his voice. He bumps shoulders with Lance and walks ahead, leading him through an exhibit full of fossils from some ancient time period. 

Normally he’d stop and study every single exhibit, but he can’t exactly concentrate when he has the steady weight of Lance’s hand in his, when he can feel the heat of Lance’s arm against his as they walk.

They spend most of the trip like that, side by side and holding hands, pointing out interesting placards and tagging along with different tour groups when the subject is interesting enough. Four hours fly by, and suddenly the museum is closing and they’re being shuffled out by a security guard who’s slightly disgruntled but who smiles softly at where they’ve linked pinkies nonetheless.

“Mission accomplished, I think,” Keith says, satisfied with how surprisingly well they’d managed to pull off the entire outing with no antagonism and convincing enough companionship, if outside opinions were anything to go off of.

Lance had struck up a conversation with a couple, a young man and a woman, while on line for the documentary part of an exhibit. Five minutes in, the man had asked how long they’d been together, and while Keith flushed and freaked out internally, Lance had smiled brightly (which didn’t help Keith’s flustered state) and said, “One month, almost. Known each other for over a year, but I only recently decided to go for it. Paid off, though.”

Lance had turned to Keith with that smile, and Keith had been certain his face was about to light on fire. He’d lightly elbowed Lance, muttering a, “Shut up," fondness clear in his voice. He wasn’t about to argue with that backstory -- it was close enough to the truth that he’d be able to remember it, and the other couple seemed to eat it up, the guy even offering Lance a fist bump.

Keith looks over to Lance. He recognizes his mistake immediately. The sun is just starting to set, and the warm light of late afternoon suits him too well. 

Lance glances over to him. 

“Yeah, mission accomplished,” Lance says. “I’m probably going to get something to eat, unless you have somewhere to be?”

Keith shrugs. “No, that sounds good.”

Lance grabs his hand again, and Keith tries his best not to tense up out of surprise. He’d assumed that the fake date is over, but this works, too, he supposes.

“Relax, remember? You can’t be surprised every time I try to hold your hand.”

“I’m perfectly relaxed,” Keith grits out. Lance scoffs, but doesn’t comment. They spend the rest of the walk in comfortable silence, with Keith gradually growing used to the feeling of someone connected to him at all times. It’s certainly not unpleasant, and when they arrive at a restaurant that Lance deems acceptable, his hand feels empty with the loss of Lance’s warmth when they sit down at a booth. Keith tries not to dwell too deeply on what that means for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my tumblr is softhance if u wanna yell about voltron w me


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to the rehearsal dinner and Keith seriously questions why he chooses to keep such terrible company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "this is going to be two chapters," she said. "it'll be finished by the end of next week," she said. 
> 
> i'M SO SORRY I KNOW THAT THIS CHAPTER TOOK FOREVER AHHH. please forgive me, college has been sucking the life out of me. i figured that y'all would prefer to at least have a little more to read, rather than have me save it all for one chapter that i post who knows when. 
> 
> hope you like this chapter!

Okay, so, maybe Keith has a little small tiny crush on Lance. Maybe hell has finally frozen over and the world is coming to an end. It certainly feels that way, when he is slapped with this realization at 2 in the  _ fucking  _ morning when he receives a text from the object of his (miniscule) affections.

> **actually had a good time yesterday! seems like we are a good team when we’re not at each other’s throats.**

Keith stares at his phone. How is he supposed to reply to that? It looks like Lance is surprised that they managed to go an entire night without any serious fighting. To be fair, Keith is certainly still a bit shocked, himself. It’s a strange thing to wrap his head around -- that he not only enjoyed his time with Lance, but he also wants to spend  more  time with him. The idea of Lance feeling the same way, or worse, knowing that Keith has  feelings for him, sparks his reply.

> _Day before yesterday, technically._

> **shut the fuck up keith**

Nailed it.

 

 

 

“Is there room at the table Allura’s sitting at?”

Shiro looks up from where he’s been making last-minute edits to the seating chart, the day before the rehearsal dinner, no less. His brow furrows. “Allura’s sitting at the table up front, since she’s part of the wedding party, just like you will be.”

“Oh. I’m not talking about myself, I know that. I mean. For my…” Keith looks off to the side, refusing to meet Shiro’s eyes. He chokes out the words quietly. “For my boyfriend.”

This time, Shiro’s the one who chokes. “Your  _ what _ ?” He laughs. Keith remains stoney faced, waiting for the hysterics to end. When he doesn’t join in, Shiro sobers up. 

“Seriously? He’s real?”

“Yes, seriously! Is that so hard to believe?”   


“I don’t know, it just seems kind of fishy that you’ve never dated anyone and then, miraculously, a mere couple weeks after I tease you about it, you get a boyfriend. Just in time for my wedding.”

Keith shrugs. “I just figured it was a good time to finally go for it.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“ _ Really _ ?”

“ _ Yes _ .”

“Seriously, Keith, I don’t want some stranger in my wedding photos.”

“God, he doesn’t need to be in all the photos, it’s not like we’re engaged.”

“I know, but in fifty years when I look at those pictures, I don’t really want to see some rando and remember that he’s that one d-bag that you dated just to prove a point.”

“It’s not like that, asshole. I really like him,” Keith mumbles, cheeks flaring at the ridiculous concept of Lance still being in his life come 50 years. It seems to convince Shiro, though. His brother’s eyes widen slightly, a grin slowly spreading across his features.

“Okay. All right. That’s great, Keith. Really,” he says, clapping Keith on the back a little too firmly. “He can sit with Allura’s date.”

“Great. Thanks.”

“And you’re bringing him to the rehearsal dinner, too, because I decide.”

Fuck.

Keith nods, only feeling slightly guilty. In a week’s time, he’ll have to pretend it didn’t work out, and deal with Shiro’s pity. For some reason, the idea that the breakup will be just as fake as the dating doesn’t comfort him in the slightest.

 

 

 

Keith learns, when he goes to pick Lance up for the rehearsal dinner, that you actually need a student I.D. to even enter the dorm buildings. He tries to pull the door open for a good two minutes before retiring to a nearby wall, feeling terribly out of place in his slacks and freshly pressed dress shirt. A girl walks by, right into the building. He considers slipping in after her, but showing up right at Lance’s door might be a little creepy, if he thinks about it. Instead, he sends Lance yet another text letting him know he’s waiting, and lets the cool breeze clear his head. All things considered, he’s not as nervous as he thought he’d be. Perhaps it’s the fact that Shiro had been so readily accepting of the ruse, or maybe it’s the remnants of the smooth practice round from two days ago, but whatever it might be, he feels like Lance is the perfect partner in crime.

Lost in thought, he doesn’t notice the very person he’s thinking about until he’s a mere foot away.

“Hey,” Lance chirps.

“Ah. Hey.”

Keith looks up to where Lance has a hand raised up in greeting, and his breath immediately catches. He isn’t sure what he’d expected -- as if Lance would wear his normal t-shirt to the dinner. Still, seeing him standing there, in a slim-fitting button-down and black dress pants that suit his longs legs well, does funny things to Keith’s heart. The only thing that remains unchanged is his hair. It’s as messy as it always is, cowlick and all (not that he’s one to talk), and the sight is so endearing that Keith can’t hold back a timid smile.

“What?” Lance stares at Keith’s grin, wary as ever. “I know, I know, I look silly, but it’s not my fault I can’t pull off formalwear. Tomorrow’s going to be even weirder. I rented a suit. I hate suits.”

Keith shakes his head vehemently. “No, no, it’s not that.”

Lance eyes him suspiciously, still muttering, but Keith can’t keep his eyes from roaming over his appearance.

“You look good.”

That shuts Lance up. The boy stands there, motionless, for so long that Keith is worried he’s broken his fake date before the real wedding. A couple of girls walk past them, and the movement seems to be enough to snap him out of his stupor.

“I. Uh. Thanks. You, too,” Lance says, rubbing the back of his neck. Keith’s smile grows. They stand there for a minute, gazes level. 

It’s not until Keith’s phone vibrates in his pocket, that they’re brought back to the present. It’s a text from Shiro, featuring a colorful threat about what fate awaits him should he not arrive at the rehearsal on time. It’s kind of a necessary precaution. Keith is notoriously late to every function he’s ever invited to.

“Come on, I parked over here.”

He leads the way to his car, climbing in and making sure Lance is buckled up before pulling out into the street. They make the first five minutes of the drive in a silence that isn’t as uncomfortable as Keith expects it to be. When he looks over, Lance is just gazing out the window, features relaxed. It makes his lips quirk up ever so slightly.

It isn’t until they’re stopped at a particularly long light that Lance turns to him. “We probably should have coordinated the outfits or something.”

Keith raises a brow. “What, you wanted us to match?”

“I don’t know, isn’t that a couple thing?

“It’s not something I’d think to do.”

Lance pokes at Keith’s tie. “Maybe, but don’t you think it’d be nice to match just a little? Even if it’s just similar colors?”

Keith glances down at his outfit. He glances at Lance’s. 

“The only real difference is the ties, Lance.”

“Yeah, but you could’ve easily worn a blue one! Then it’d look nice, I think.”

“Why couldn’t you have worn red?”

Lance lets out a sheepish laugh. “I only own one tie.”

“Of course you do,” Keith says, amusement clear in his tone. “It doesn’t matter. I think red and blue look good together.”

“I guess. Reminds me of Spider-Man, which is never a bad thing.”

When Keith pulls into the parking lot of the impressive venue (a manor, because Matt Holt does not hold back when it comes to his big day, apparently), Lance is still chattering on about his favorite superheroes. Keith nods occasionally, content to just listen to him speak so passionately about something that he, himself, knows very little about, past the few movies Matt has dragged him to.   


As soon as the car is parked and his feet are on solid ground, Lance is swooping in to grab his hand and lead him to the entrance. Keith starts, but recovers quickly.

“Come on, you’ve gotta act like you want me to hold your hand, even just a little.”

_ I do _ , Keith almost replies. Thankfully, before that happens, Hunk and Allura intercept them, and it quickly dissolves into a happy little hug-fest. Still, he bites his tongue to keep anything similarly embarrassing from escaping by accident.

“So, Lance, how much did you pay Keith to date you?”

Lance splutters at Allura’s dig for a solid thirty seconds. Keith can only giggle at his disbelief. Luckily, before Lance hurts himself with all the scoffing he’s doing, Allura nudges his shoulder lightly.

“Kidding, kidding. Hunk told me the whole ‘fake dating’ situation. I have to say, I’m a little surprised it’s happened this way. I expected you two to get together eventually, but I suppose you’ll figure it out.”

It’s Keith’s turn to splutter. Lance simply gazes at her, mortified. “What.”

Hunk laughs, gathering the two of them into his arms. “We’re just happy it seems to be working out so far, that’s all.”

“It’s been a total of two minutes of faking it, Hunk.”

“Yeah, but Lance told me about your date.”

Lance coughs violently. “Fake date, buddy.”

“I know. Still very date-like, even if you say it’s fake.”

Pidge pokes her head out of the door, a mere three feet away. “Wanna say ‘fake’ one more time? I don’t think Shiro heard you the first hundred times.”

Keith turns his head to Hunk, who still has his arms around him and Lance. “Jesus, Hunk, how many people did you tell?”

“Just these two, I swear!” 

Keith huffs.

“... And Shay. But I promise, that’s it!”

“Why do I even bother?”

“You’re a sad, emotionally stunted man who’s terrible at making friends,” Pidge sing-songs.

“Thank you for that, Pidge.”

“Anytime.”

Allura smiles. “Now, hurry up, sad man, Shiro’s been waiting for you.”

Keith detangles himself from Hunk and Lance, hurrying into the building after Pidge. No need to make his brother follow through on the threats he’s been sending him for the past hour or so. 

Shiro stops short when Keith slips into the room.

“You’re here? With a full ten minutes to spare?” Shiro stares at Keith with insulting incredulity. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

“Shut up. You’re the one that told me to get here on time or else.”

“Yeah, but that only has a 5% success rate.”

“Is that an accurate number?”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

“So. You wanted something?”

“Nah, I just didn’t think you’d actually show up this early, so I was looking for a reason to be mad at you when you finally did come.”

Unbelievable.

Matt cackles from where he’s been entertaining some miscellaneous extended family from some ambiguous Midwestern state. “C’mon, ‘kashi, give it a rest. We’re getting married tomorrow!”

“Yeah, _ ‘kashi _ , give it a rest.”

Shiro sticks his tongue out at him in a true show of maturity. A second later, the devious grin that replaces that expression makes Keith spin on his heel immediately in an attempt to escape before the torment starts. Shiro, experienced in Keith-wrangling, already has an arm securely around his brother’s shoulders.

“So, Allura told me about your boy.”

“Did she, now?” (Note to self: excommunicate Allura).

“Yeah, seems like he’s real. Congrats, I had my doubts.”

“He sure is.”

“I have to say, though, I’m surprised.”

“Oh?”

“From what she was telling me, he’s quite the catch. And you know how high her standards are. Witty and outgoing and cute, she said, and a great match for you. Seems way out of your league, to be honest.”

“I hate you.”

“I know. Introduce me to your boyfriend.”

Keith digs his heels into the floor, trying his best to root himself in one spot, but Shiro’s always been stronger than him. Stupid beefy arms. Shiro all but carries Keith across the room to the door he’d entered through. Halfway there, Matt gleefully excuses himself from his relative (Great uncle? Second cousin thrice removed? There are too many Holts) and loops an arm through Keith’s. He pulls, only accelerating Keith’s inevitable doom.

“You’re both terrible,” Keith grits out.

Matt shoots him a grin identical to Shiro’s. “Yeah. Part of the reason we’re so perfect for each other.”

He swings open the door and steps aside as Shiro gives Keith a massive push that almost sends him sprawling. The only thing that keeps him from completely wiping out is Lance, unfortunately, who lets out a rather unbecoming squawk and nearly falls completely backwards. Instead, he half-catches Keith in a stiff pseudo-embrace. Hunk and Allura burst into hysterical giggles.

Keith almost combusts. He jumps away from Lance as soon as he gets his bearings, whirling around and punching Shiro on the arm. 

“I. Hate. You.” He punctuates each word with a punch. Shiro is laughing too much to be very bothered by it. He contemplates kicking him in the shin, but Shiro’s wearing slacks that look expensive. He hates him, but he’ll get a pass. He’s getting married tomorrow. Keith settles for a hard flick to the earlobe immediately followed by a wet willy.

“Sorry about my brother. He’s unapologetically terrible,” Keith says, turning back to Lance, who’s been watching the scene with a surprising amount of mirth.

“Hey, no explanation needed. You’re talking to someone with four older siblings. I know the feeling.”

Keith relaxes at this. In fact, he only tenses up a little when Lance's fingers brush his. It’s progress. Kind of.

“Well, as you could probably tell, this is my brother, Shiro. The gremlin next to him is his fiance, Matt. Shiro and Matt, meet Lance. My boyfriend.” He has to more or less choke out the last two words. It’s strange and terrible, mostly because he wishes it were true. He’s seriously screwed.

“Yup, that’s me! Lance McClain, nice to meet you both. Glad to see that gremlin runs in the Holt family.”

Keith stares. Matt loses it in the best way possible. That is to say, he can’t stop laughing. Keith can’t understand what he ever did wrong to deserve the company of these people. He also can’t understand why he  _ likes  _ being in said company. Surely it qualifies as some sort of weird masochism.

“I like him, Keith. I like you, Lance,” Shiro says, clapping Lance firmly on the back. Keith can hear the breath rush out of his lungs. He winces -- he’s all too familiar with that feeling. Seriously. Stupid beefy arms.

“Thanks, man. I try,” Lance wheezes, returning the fist bump Matt’s offered him.

“So, how’d you two meet?” Hunk all but yells. Keith is going to excommunicate him, along with Allura. For now, though, he settles for a dead-eyed stare.

Lance has a similar look on his face. “You were there while it was happening, buddy. Do you really want to hear it?”

“I’ve never heard it,” Matt says. “I wanna know.”

“Yeah, Keith. I wanna know, too,” Shiro still has that stupid smirk on his face.

Keith huffs. “Fine. We met through Hunk. The end.”

“Dude,” Hunk says. “That was awful.”

“I’ll tell it, I don’t mind,” Lance says, opting for a smile for Shiro and Matt (holy shit) and reaching to entwine his fingers with Keith’s (HOLY SHIT). “Freshman year, we were in the same French class, and Keith was always raising his hand and answering questions correctly. So I started raising my hand too, because the teacher started liking him a lot and I’m usually the one that teachers like.”

Keith rolls his eyes. Mostly because this part is actually true. Actually, the whole story is true, minus the dating part.

“And then it just became this competition where we’d try to raise our hands and get the question first. He was so annoying,” Lance says, but his grin says otherwise. Keith catches himself staring, because really, he can’t believe how  _ convincing  _ Lance is. “After that class, I didn’t see him at the beginning of the next semester, which kind of sucked. French was weird without him to antagonize me.”

Lance nudges him with his elbow, and Keith nudges him back harder. “If I remember correctly,  _ you _ were the one antagonizing  _ me _ .”

Lance waves his free hand, dispelling Keith’s claim. “Details. Anyway, luckily for me, Keith and Hunk ended up in the same English class, and they had a project together. I’d crash their study sessions, naturally.”

“They were very productive study sessions, for Lance. He made a lot of headway in the subject of seducing Keith. Not much textual analysis was done, though,” Hunk says cheerfully.

Keith’s jaw drops. He can’t even fault Shiro and Matt for sniggering at that, even if he does want to melt into the ground and disappear. Why does this embarrassment over a fake relationship feel so real? 

“ANYWAY, after that class, Hunk and Keith were friends, and Hunk and I were friends, so I’d see him sometimes, even though he didn’t, y’know… we didn’t have class together. And then, I asked him out finally a couple weeks ago. Didn’t feel like making any more excuses to hang out with him, y’know.”

“I asked you out, Lance.”

Lance shrugs. “Eh. Like I said, details. Not important.”

“It’s important to me!”

“Okay, fine, _Keith_ asked _me_ out. Happy?”

“Yup.”

Shiro’s stopped his laughing, and has moved on to just staring at them, as if trying to figure out a particularly difficult optical illusion. Keith squirms under his gaze, almost pulling his hand out of Lance’s. Almost. He likes holding Lance’s hand too much to willingly detach.

“What? Why are you looking at us like that?” Keith asks, perhaps a tad too defensively.

Shiro blinks. “Nothing. It’s just… you two seem good for each other. I’m glad you’re happy.”

Keith looks at the ground. “Uh. Thanks.”

“Seriously. I’m glad, Keith. Interrogation over. You guys can go hang out inside if you want.”

Shiro pats the two of them on the back before heading inside himself, Matt following behind with a small salute. Once he’s out of view, Lance deflates slightly.

“Okay. That wasn’t terrible,” he says.

“What, were you expecting him to rip your head from your shoulders?”

“I don’t know! He looks like he could do that, honestly. He's ripped.”

Keith can’t really argue with that. “Well, he won’t. Promise. Come on, let’s say hi to everyone else. I’m sure they’re in there spreading the word and embarrassing me as much as possible.”

“Don’t worry, I have this kind of stuff down. The McClain family reunion is a bi-annual occasion that I’ve been conditioned for my entire life,” Lance says, winking at him. Keith is going to implode before the wedding actually happens.

He leads Lance into the building, their hands still firmly linked. Immediately, they’re swarmed by well-meaning relatives and friends, excitement and nosiness following. Lance seems to be in his element, telling the rehearsed stories over and over, never skipping a beat whenever a new person approaches them. Keith begins to wilt a quarter of the way through the extensive list of guests, and is saved by the rehearsal dinner actually starting. Still, with Lance next to him, the prospect of meeting with the rest of his relatives doesn’t seem quite so intimidating.

 

 

 

(Later, when Keith drives home, Lance falls asleep in the passenger seat. He looks so peaceful that Keith almost wants to keep driving, to let him sleep for as long as he wants. But that would definitely qualify as creepy, and Lance would probably wake up and think he was kidnapping him or something. So instead, he gently taps Lance’s cheek. It takes a couple tries and more than a couple groans, but in the end, the sleepy smile that he receives as Lance gets out of the car makes it all worth it.

He’s well and truly fucked.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i'm not going to promise the last chapter within a week, but i'm definitely going to /try/ to get it up by the end of the month. the key word here is try. thank you for bearing with me, hope you're enjoying the fic thus far! any feedback would be appreciated - i'm still feeling a little shaky on characterization.
> 
> and again, my tumblr is softhance if u wanna drop a message or remind me to work on chapter three lol
> 
> edit: for some reason it's showing my chapter 1 notes underneath the chapter 2 notes so uHHHH just know that it probably won't be finished by next week,,, sorry,,,

**Author's Note:**

> i'm a little paranoid that everyone's super ooc so... lmk if you think so, and i'll try to improve for the second half of the story. constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! as are compliments, if you have any to give!
> 
> thanks for reading this far ig. it'll be finished by the end of next week!
> 
> u can come bother me on tumblr @ softhance.tumblr.com (esp if i forget to post the second half lol)


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